pejorative (adj.)

"depreciative, disparaging, giving a low or bad sense to," 1888, from French péjoratif, from Late Latin peiorat-, past-participle stem of peiorare "make worse," from Latin peior "worse," perhaps originally "stumbling," from PIE *ped-yos-, suffixed (comparative) form of *ped- "to walk, stumble, impair," from root *ped- "foot." As a noun, "a word that depreciates the sense," from 1882. English had a verb pejorate "to worsen" from 1640s.